The Chinese understand the art of eating, adhering to the principle of “eating only what is in season.” Eating should be timely, according to the seasons, and sometimes one even travels to the origin of the food for the best experience.
For instance, donkey meat is eaten on New Year’s Day, known as “chewing ghosts”; radishes are consumed on the day of the Beginning of Spring, called “biting spring”; and in March, one goes to the base of the Temple of Heaven to gather dragon’s beard grass, hoping to absorb some “divine essence.”
It’s now November, the tail end of the crab season, and it’s time to enjoy hairy crabs. When it comes to hairy crabs, you really have to go to Yangcheng Lake. Plus, a new Indigo has recently opened by the lake, making it an even more compelling destination.
In today’s article, I’ll first talk about crabs and then delve into the details of this new Indigo by Yangcheng Lake.
Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs and those from other regions. Since I can’t distinguish them, the best approach is to go straight to the source.
And it has to be the kind that’s caught in the lake, cooked on the shore, and eaten immediately.
Crab Fields on Yangcheng Lake
The bottom of Yangcheng Lake is covered with hard stones, with an average depth of about 2 meters, providing the perfect light and temperature for the growth of hairy crabs.
In December each year, the first batch of aquatic plants is planted at the bottom of the lake.
In February of the following year, small crablings are placed into the enclosures where the aquatic plants have been planted. After that, it’s a long process of fishing, feeding crabs, and planting more aquatic plants.
Then around September 21st, the hairy crabs are ready to be harvested, a season that lasts until mid-December.
The characteristics of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs are their green back, white belly, golden claws, yellow hair… and long legs. They are nicknamed “supermodel crabs.”
The Yangcheng Peninsula Indigo is right by the shore of Yangcheng Lake. After checking in, we couldn’t wait to head to the lake, where we found a small fishing boat to take us to the crab fields on the lake.
We then started catching crabs, as these crabs have grown all their lives for the ultimate purpose of ending up on the dining table.
The fishermen tie the caught crabs with ropes.
Tying the crabs is to prevent them from moving around, which slows down their death rate during transportation.
Back at the hotel, they are immediately served on the table. This is the best way to enjoy Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.
Now, let’s talk about the Yangcheng Peninsula Indigo.
This hotel, called the Yangcheng Peninsula Indigo, is situated on a peninsula in Yangcheng Lake, with three sides facing the lake. Unless you’re staying on the first floor, almost all rooms offer lake views.
Here’s another map to show you just how great the location of this hotel is. Situated within the Yunsahn Lake Ecological Park on the banks of Lake Yangcheng, the hotel is not just on a peninsula but almost in the center of the lake. The lake view spans 270 degrees.
On either side of the hotel are crab fields, and nearby are the Chongyuan Temple and the Huayi Brothers Movie World. The Bicester Village in Suzhou is also very close.
During the crab season, you can enjoy fresh crabs, and even on regular days, it’s a great place for a vacation.
Indigo is considered a trendy brand under IHG, known for its stylish design. As the saying goes, there are countless beautiful hotels, but there’s always one called Indigo.
What’s more, each Indigo hotel is unique. If you don’t want a monotonous stay, Indigo is the way to go.
Naturally, the Yangcheng Lake Peninsula Indigo is no exception; it’s quite stunning.
The outdoor design concept of this hotel is inspired by traditional Chinese garden elements: pavilions, terraces, towers, pavilions, verandas, pavilions, corridors, and boats. After all, the hotel is in Suzhou, and the essence of Jiangnan gardens should embody these elements.
Let me highlight a few.
Boat-Shaped Building
This is a building designed in the shape of a boat, usually with three sides facing the water and one side connected to the land. Since it resembles a boat but cannot be sailed, it is also called “the boat that is not tied.”
There is a boat-shaped building in the Yangcheng Peninsula Indigo, which houses a book bar and can also be used as a meeting room. The colored glass is indeed quite beautiful.
Pavilion
A pavilion is a place for rest and is an important scenic spot in a garden. In a Suzhou-style garden landscape, pavilions are indispensable.
The interior design concept of the hotel, on the other hand, is centered around the theme of the hairy crab.
As soon as you enter, you are greeted by a large hairy crab standing on imperial kiln golden bricks.
This is very characteristic of Lake Yangcheng, which is most famous for its hairy crabs and imperial kiln golden bricks. The soil at the bottom of Lake Yangcheng is firm, making it excellent material for brick-making. The 4,718 floor tiles in the Golden Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing’s Palace Museum are all imperial kiln golden bricks, produced in Lake Yangcheng.
The decorative paintings on the walls are also of hairy crabs.
It is said that the first lesson in the employee training at this hotel is folding hairy crabs. Those who don’t fold them well are not allowed to start work. These folded crabs then appear on the walls and are given to guests as small gifts.
Other walls are adorned with various abstract artworks related to hairy crabs.
These are actually tied hairy crabs and crab baskets.
On the walls of the restaurant, there are illustrations depicting the 7 steps to eating crab.
In reality, when it comes to eating crab, what I truly need is a crab disassembler… When there’s no crab disassembler available, I’ll just follow the 7 steps on the wall and do it myself.
This place really takes the elements of the Chinese mitten crab to the extreme; even the employees’ lapel pins are shaped like crabs, adorably cute.
Of course, the Yangcheng Lake Peninsula Indigo is not just about the Chinese mitten crab.
There are also the exceptionally beautiful internet-famous rotating staircases, actually two of them, one red and one green, though I forgot to take a photo of the green one.
The indoor heated pool features a white and green color scheme, with high ceilings, giving an overall impression of brightness and spaciousness.
There is also an outdoor pool.
One of the hotel’s major benefits is that it has 1 indoor and 3 outdoor hot tubs, perfect for soaking in the winter.
I have a good impression of hotels that call themselves hot tubs rather than hot springs; they seem more honest and not out to deceive.
The indoor gym
The indoor children’s playground
The hotel’s outdoor lawn also has several tents set up, where you can enjoy some pastries, coffee, afternoon tea, and so on.
Recently, it seems more and more hotels are venturing into outdoor activities, which is great.
The Yangcheng Lake Peninsula Indigo is also a hotel that becomes more beautiful as the night falls. In the evening, the hotel holds a lantern floating event. The last time I floated a lantern was in Hoi An, Vietnam.
And the rooms
The Yangcheng Peninsula Indigo has a total of 108 rooms, each with a large balcony (or a courtyard), and most rooms on the 1st floor have views of Yangcheng Lake.
The basic rooms are already 50㎡ in size, providing a comfortable stay. The image below is of a basic room.
The rooms show a good sense of design; the bedside tables are shaped like food boxes; the wall paintings depict scenes of Suzhou gardens.
The main color scheme of the rooms is orange-green, said to represent the colors of a raw and cooked Chinese mitten crab.
The amenities are from Shanghai Tang, as is standard for Indigo hotels.
Mini Bar is complimentary.
Now, let’s talk about the dining options.
At Indigo, there is basically just one restaurant that handles breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The restaurant at this Indigo is called Cheng 16. I asked why, and the hotel staff explained that it’s because the restaurant is by the Yangcheng Lake, and the hotel is located at Bay Moon Street No. 16.
It has a flavor reminiscent of Hyatt restaurants.
I really like the color scheme of Cheng 16, with its black and white floor tiles and contrasting table, cabinet, and chair colors. Even before the food arrived, I was already captivated by the restaurant’s ambiance.
In most Indigo hotels, the number of restaurants does not exceed one. This single restaurant takes care of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as your needs for coffee during the day and drinks in the evening.
This means that the restaurant often has to be versatile, capable of serving both Chinese and Western cuisine.
I had two meals here, and the quality was quite good. Especially the hairy crabs, eating them at the source really feels completely different.
The breakfast offerings were also quite good.
